Apparently the intersection of espionage and naturalists goes beyond the fictional 007 being named for the author of Birds of the West Indies, James Bond. A fascinating blog post on spying naturalists and spies posing as naturalists is up on The New York Times’ Opinionator.
Wright, Rick (2009) Birder undercover: the life and times of Alexander Milton Ross. Birding 41(2): 46-50.
And then there’s Alger Hiss and the Prothonotary, of course.
Rick, I totally expect your next beat blogger post to be titled “Alger Hiss and the Prothonotary”.
The tale of how the Prothonotary Warbler became involved in politics is one of my favorite bird-related stories!